Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

There is no doubt about that, even though the last general election was tough going.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, stated that the reform and renewal of our Constitution is an important process to which the Government is fully committed. If he is in favour of reforming the Constitution, I hope he has a more open mind than that displayed by some of the comments he made in his speech.

The Bill proposes seven amendments to Article 12 of the Constitution. The second amendment proposes to reduce the presidential term from seven to five years. I welcome that. Politics needs a new generation, fresh energy and people to get involved in the democratic process. I believe five years is just the right term. Sometimes we only get four years in the Dáil if we are lucky. I am not sure if this Government will get through next week, but we will see. I hope it lasts a bit longer.

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